A sore lower back will sideline Bonzi Wells for at least a week.

Wells was signed by Houston shortly before the season started and has already missed 19 games due to a variety of reasons.

Rockets guard Kirk Snyder was back on the practice court Saturday afternoon running through individual shooting drills.

He's hoping that he won't be working out on his own much longer.

Snyder, who has been out since Nov. 21 with a broken right hand, is optimistic that he could be back in the lineup in "no more than two weeks."

The reserve guard was originally expected to miss eight to 10 weeks.

"I'm ahead of schedule so hopefully the doctor doesn't say anything else or I'll have to beat him up," Snyder joked after Saturday's workout. "I'm in good shape cardio-wise. I just have to get my hand back so that I can shoot."

Yao Ming plans to meet with doctors next week for an update on how his injured right knee is healing.

Yao told KRIV-TV in Houston on Friday that he hopes for a better prognosis than the one doctors initially provided - that he would be out of action until early February.

Yao fractured his right tibial plateau under his knee Dec. 23 when he jumped to block a shot and his knee got caught under Tim Thomas' body. Yao immediately grabbed his knee and screamed in pain.

Yao was averaging 26 points and nine rebounds before the injury.

"It's really hard,'' Yao said. "This is the best year I have ever had for my team and for me personally.''

Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers lead the Western Conference, while LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat lead the Eastern Conference in votes received after the second returns of 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile.
       
Through the 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting program, NBA fans from around the globe are responsible for voting in the starters for the 56th NBA All-Star Game, which will be played in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 18. The game will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.  
       
Yao leads all players with 1,411,923 votes. The Minnesota Timberwolves? Kevin Garnett leads all Western Conference forwards with 785,865 votes, followed by San Antonio?s Tim Duncan (715,916). Bryant (1,187,505) and the Houston Rockets? Tracy McGrady (1,057,057) lead all Western Conference guards. Moving into third place among Western Conference guards is Allen Iverson, who was acquired by the Denver Nuggets from the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 19. Since Iverson was traded to a Western Conference team after the All-Star ballot was unveiled, his Eastern Conference votes will be applied to the conference in which he now plays.

James leads all Eastern Conference players with 1,323,989 votes, followed by Wade (983,321). The Toronto Raptors? Chris Bosh (497,283) is second to James among Eastern Conference forwards. The New Jersey Nets? Vince Carter (726,040) is second to Wade among Eastern Conference guards. Miami?s Shaquille O?Neal leads all Eastern Conference centers with 855,544 votes, followed by the Orlando Magic?s Dwight Howard (665,434).

Tracy McGrady returned to Houston's lineup Tuesday against Indiana after sitting out seven games with back spasms.

The Rockets were 2-5 without McGrady, who averaged 19.2 points, 6.3 assists and 5.6 rebounds a game. Now, Houston is missing leading scorer Yao Ming for six weeks after he fractured the bone under his right knee Saturday.

Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal, meanwhile, was sitting out Tuesday's game with flu symptoms.

Rockets guard Tracy McGrady, who Monday went through a fourth consecutive day of workouts without complications, could be ready to play tonight against the Indiana Pacers.

Rockets athletic trainer Keith Jones said a decision would not be made until after today's shootaround.

McGrady, 27, who has missed seven games because of back spasms suffered Dec. 9, had not been able to work out on consecutive days before the past four days.

Tracy McGrady worked out for the second straight day on Saturday, the first time he's been able to do that since back spasms flared up on December 9th.

"It's not bad. It's not good," McGrady said of his back.

Coach Jeff Van Gundy said the Rockets' results on the court do not influence whether McGrady plays.

"It's not about being cautious or not cautious," he said. "If the guy is able to play, he plays. If he's not able to play, he doesn't play. It's not that we're going to risk him. He can't play right now. He's trying to search out any way he can help himself. Everybody is trying to get the same goal accomplished, that his back feels better."

Carroll Dawson and the Houston Rockets were offering the team's $4.2 million trade exception in the event the 76ers, determined to free themselves from long contract commitments, needed a place to move a salary.

They didn't, and if they had, the Rockets surely would have been cautious.

When Dawson made sure Sixers GM Billy King considered the Rockets' trade exception, he showed there could be circumstances in which the Rockets could push into the luxury tax, even before the team lost Yao for at least six weeks Saturday night.

Again, those would have to be special circumstances. Playing without Yao and McGrady qualifies.

For now, many of the names out there ? Corey Maggette ($7 million), Earl Watson ($5.4 million) ? make more money than the Rockets' exception. Brevin Knight, who is often mentioned but whom the Bobcats insist is not available, earns $4.4 million.

The Rockets likely will wait and see when and if McGrady comes back, how Bonzi Wells works out and if young point guards John Lucas III and Vassilis Spanoulis contribute.

Tracy McGrady worked out Saturday, the first time he has been able to work out on consecutive days since he suffered back spasms Dec. 9 in Washington.

"It's not bad. It's not good," McGrady said of his back.

He said he felt about as he did Tuesday when he thought he had turned the corner in his rehabilitation.

McGrady said he was considering trying some of the ideas presented to him in a meeting Thursday by a Waco physician who has worked with many athletes, including Andy Roddick and Michael Johnson.

"It was interesting," McGrady said. "He had some technology I had never seen before.

"I'm good. At times I get really frustrated because I want to play so bad, but there's nothing I can do."

Yao Ming will miss at least six weeks after fracturing the bone under his right knee in Houston's game on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Yao was leaping for a blocked shot as Chuck Hayes and Tim Thomas hit the floor beneath him. Yao's knee appeared to get caught under Thomas' body and Yao immediately grabbed his knee and screamed in pain.

Yao was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, where an MRI test revealed a fracture of Yao's right tibial plateau, trainer Keith Jones said.

The Rockets first said Yao had only suffered a bone bruise, but now the club is merely hoping no surgery is required.

"It's a non-displaced fracture, so nothing is way out of the way or out of whack," Jones said. "We think he'll do well with just rest. An option would be to do something more, but we're hoping that won't need to be done."